St. Jude Marathon

Where's Waldo Mike?

I came. I ran. I sucked. I thought my time would be a lot better coming into this race, but knew my time would suck around mile 17...when I started my run/walk routine. Up until then, I had only walked the bigger hills and at the aid stations to drink. Also, three pee breaks lengthened my time (had to wait in line!). All in all, I am fairly ok (not happy) with my time and plan on running again next year.

My biggest issues were the balls of my feet and my toes. I must have been pushing off with my toes, which hasn't happened before. A few blisters, but not big enough to cause issues. Another painful area is my core (lower gut). I had the same issue in the MidSouth Marathon last month. Unsure why it hurt, but I guess I need to do some core strengthening exercises.

Thanks to all who gave me words of encouragement throughout the run! A special thanks to the guy with the hot chicken broth around mile 15!! That was a great pick-me-up!

Recovery run for today was ten miles on the treadmill/elliptical/bike. No problems to note...all systems go.

Marathon #2 is now complete. Next race is Swamp Stomper 50k in January.



Official Splits:
6.2 Mile: 1:07:36 (10:55 pace)
13.1 Mile: 2:29:08 (11:23 pace)
20 Mile: 3:55:59 (11:48 pace)
26.2 Mile: 5:20:31 (12:15 pace)
Overall pace of 12:15

Official Results:
179th in age division (males)
1135th in all males
1689th overall (out of 1961 full marathon runners)